Brick by Brick

The bricklayer knelt in the dirt, her knees chafed and raw. The rusted trowel lay haphazardly at her side where she had moments ago dropped it. It lay half obscured by blades of tall grass. She would lose track of it. The repetition of the day’s task had ground her brain into a mushy paste. Where was Bandt today, or yesterday for that matter? He was supposed to clear the path ahead of her so she could focus on the brickwork. How frustrating she found that boy. Everyone had a job to do and everyone must do that job. She was a bricklayer as her father was before her, and her grandmother before that. Their family had worked on the Salvage Road for generations. Bandt was a foundationer. His job was to clear the old dirt road of grass and rocks so that she could continue her work. What if Kappy Lestan the ‘smith had given up her hammer for a drink? Then Bandt would have no tools for his job. The foolish boy had no regard for the circle of progress. He was probably fooling off at the nearby Passtown. The Old Road drove through many such Passtowns and each one was the same. They were stops for travelers to rest their weary feet. They were also dens of misdeeds. Work was good. Work kept the hands busy so that they wouldn’t wander, and young boys’ hands tended to wander.

The bricklayer, Jassa Loome she was called, though she couldn’t remember the last time she had heard her name aloud, stretched her back and felt a few innocent pops. She craned her neck and stared up at the sky. The Core twinkled vibrant shades of green, its nourishing light feeding the summer foliage. She had never been to the Core before but she had met travelers who had made such claims. Even the best poets failed to find words evocative enough to describe the beauty they saw there. Crystalline skyscrapers climbed across its surface, built by the noble denizens that dwelled there.

When she had been a young girl, back when the Salvage Road was forty bends shorter, she used to dream about one day stepping foot on the Core. That beautiful sphere hanging in her sky had represented so much hope and so much longing. Keep your eyes on the ground, Jassa, her father always reminded her, Everyone has a job to do.

Her father’s words lived in her. Jassa shifted her gaze past the Core towards the far side of Inworld. She could see the Salvage Road stretching upward along the curve of the surface until it disappeared in the haze of distance. The world was vast and on the clearest days she could almost see the far side. Somewhere along that brick road was Tuashi where she had grown up. Ton Loome had taken his furlough in the suburban demense that was Tuashi. He took family with a mason’s daughter named Liddy Parinuk. Their first child was called Tarin, a strong boy who took to masonry like a bee takes to a flower. Their second was Jassa who had followed her father’s profession and found it suited her well. She had left Tuashi twenty five years ago to continue Ton’s work building the Salvage Road and though she had not seen her family in all that time, she often thought of them and of home.

Where in the Surface was Bandt, thought Jassa. She couldn’t continue her work until the fool continued his. She stood and began walking back along the brick road she had laid towards the Passtown. Pausing, she looked skyward and was once more filled with the gentle warmth of hope. Try as her father had, he never could snuff out that flame. The light of the Core would be dimming soon, she may as well head back to her bunkhouse and get an early start tomorrow. But not before giving Bandt an earful.,

---

 Brick by Brick was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro (with a little help from Daniel Weinell).